a.

Lawyer - the general term for a person trained in the law and authorized to
advice and represent others in legal matters

b. attorney-at-law – a person who is a licensed officer of the courts

empowered to appear, prosecute and defend, and upon whom peculiar
duties, responsibilities and liabilities are developed by law as a
consequence.

c. attorney-in-fact - simply an agent whose authority is strictly limited by the

instrument appointing him. His authority is provided in a special power of
attorney or general power of attorney or letter of attorney. He is not
necessarily a lawyer.

d. trial lawyer - one who personally handles cases in court, administrative

agencies of boards which mean engaging in actual trial work, either for the
prosecution or for the defense of cases of clients.

e. practicing lawyer - one engaged in the practice of law who by license are
officers of the court and who are empowered to appear, prosecute and
defend a client’s cause.

f. counsel de parte – attorney retained by a party litigant, usually for a fee, to

prosecute or defend his cause in court.

g. counsel de oficio – Attorney appointed by the court.

i. To defend an indigent defendant in a criminal
action. OR
ii. To represent a destitute party.

h. attorney of record – Attorney whose name, together with his address, is

entered in the record of the case as the designated counsel of the party
litigant. / To whom judicial notices are sent.

i. Attorney of counsel - an experienced lawyer, who is usually a retired

member of judiciary employed by law firms as consultant.

j. amicus curiae - an experienced and impartial attorney invited by the court

to appear and help in the disposition of issues submitted to it. An amicus
curiae appears in court not to represent any particular party but only to
assist the court.

k. amicus curiae par excellence - bar associations who appear in court as

amici curiae or friends of the court. Acts merely as a consultant to guide
the court in a doubtful question or issue pending before it.
***The act of the client engaging the services of an attorney to render legal
advice or defend or prosecute his cause in court.

l. general retainer – its purpose is to secure beforehand, the services of an

attorney for any legal problem that may afterward arise.

m. special retainer - has reference to a particular case or service only.

n. attorney’s fees - In the ordinary sense, attorney's fees represent the

reasonable compensation paid to a lawyer by his client for the legal
services he has rendered to the latter; while in its extraordinary concept,
they may be awarded by the court as indemnity for damages to be paid by
the losing party to the prevailing party. (PHILIPPINE NATIONAL
CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION, vs. APAC MARKETING
CORPORATION)

o. charging lien - is the right which the attorney has upon all judgments for
the payment of money and executions issued in pursuance thereof,
secured in favor of the client.

- special lien in a particular case and presupposes that a

favorable judgment has been secured for the client in that
case.
- Active lien

p. retaining lien - is the right of an attorney to retain the funds, documents

and papers of his client which have lawfully come into his possession until
his lawful fees and disbursements have been paid and to apply such funds
to the satisfaction thereof. It is dependent upon and takes effect from the
time of lawful possession; it does not require notice thereof upon the client
and the adverse party to be effective.

- a general lien for the balance of the account due to the

attorney from his client for services rendered in all
matters which he may have handled for the client,
regardless of their outcome.
- Passive lien

q. contingent contract - an agreement in writing where the fee, often a fixed

percentage of what may be recovered in the action, is made to depend
upon the success of the litigation. (The Conjugal Partnership of the
Spouses Cadavedo v. Lacaya)

r. champertous contract - It is when the lawyer stipulates with his client that
in the prosecution of the case, he will bear all the expenses for the
recovery of things or property being claimed by the client and the latter
 agrees to pay the former a portion of the thing/property recovered as
compensation. Champertous contracts are prohibited as they are against
public policy and ethics of the profession.

s. quantum meruit - literally meaning as much as he deserves - is used as

basis for determining an attorney's professional fees in the absence of an
express agreement. The recovery of attorney's fees on the basis
of quantum meruit is a device that prevents an unscrupulous client from
running away with the fruits of the legal services of counsel without paying
for it and also avoids unjust enrichment on the part of the attorney himself.
An attorney must show that he is entitled to reasonable compensation for
the effort in pursuing the client's cause, taking into account certain factors
in fixing the amount of legal fees. (Rosario, Jr. v. De Guzman)

t. ambulance chasing - solicitation of almost any kind of legal business by

laymen employed by an attorney for the purpose or by the attorney
himself.

u. Barratry - offense of frequently exciting and stirring up quarrels and suits,

either at law or otherwise; Lawyer’s act of fomenting suits among
individuals and offering his legal services to one of them.

v. forum shopping - It is the improper practice of going from one court to

another in the hope of securing a favorable relief in one court which
another court has denied or the filing of repetitious suits or proceedings in
different courts concerning substantially the same subject matter.

- There is also forum shopping whenever, as a result of an

adverse opinion in one forum, a party seeks a favorable
opinion in another forum, other than appeal or certiorari.